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The printed version remains the official version.
One-thirty o’clock p.m.
Prayers and Reflections by Reann Gasper.
The Speaker delivered his reserved decision as follows:
Honourable Members:
On Tuesday, November 25, the Third Party House Leader raised a point of order regarding the introduction of a bill by the Leader of the Fourth Party. Specifically, the Third Party House Leader took issue with the scope of the introductory remarks offered by the Leader of the Fourth Party. The Chair thanks the Third Party House Leader and the Leader of the Fourth Party for their submissions and is now prepared to rule on the point of order.
The House may benefit from a historical perspective on the proceeding known as the introduction and first reading of a bill. As Members know, British Columbia adopted the Westminster parliamentary system, which is still adhered to in the U.K. House of Commons. In that institution, the practice remains that a bill is introduced by the reading of the short title of a bill and by an order for the bill to be printed. This is as succinct and focused as parliamentary procedure gets.
For over a century, this House followed the same practice, in accordance with Standing Order 74, which provides, “Every Bill shall be introduced upon motion specifying the title of the bill.”
In 1985, that practice changed upon the adoption of recommendations presented by a parliamentary committee. One of the evolutions in parliamentary procedure stemming from that came in the form of Practice Recommendation No. 5, which states, “Permit a statement not to exceed 2 minutes by the Member in charge of introduction of a Bill to explain its purpose. No further debate shall be permitted at this stage.”
As noted in Parliamentary Practice in British Columbia, 5th edition, at page 239, at introduction and first reading, a Member is expected to introduce the bill by stating its title and briefly outlining its purpose. This expectation is reflected in other parliamentary authorities that the Chair consulted.
For example, Beauchesne, 6th edition, at paragraph 645 states, “At this stage it is not permissible to argue the bill. Discussion on the bill’s merits may take place on the motion for the second reading. The Member is only permitted to explain the provisions of the bill in order that the House will understand its purport.”
As the Chair noted in guidance to the House on Thursday, November 20, the provisions of Practice Recommendation No. 5 are not to be abused to allow for the introduction of arguments that should otherwise be presented by Members in subsequent stages of debate on a bill.
As is the case with all Members of the House, the Chair does not have the benefit of viewing the contents of a bill upon introduction and first reading. So a Member’s remarks in relation to the bill’s contents may not always be clear. But it appears to the Chair that any Member is perfectly capable of providing a brief, objective overview of the contents of their bill without offering arguments or opinions — which, as noted, can be canvassed in subsequent stages of debate.
While the Chair tends to provide leniency, the Chair again wishes to assure the House that the Chair is prepared to intervene should a Member stray from these expectations at introduction and first reading of a bill.
HON. RAJ CHOUHAN, Speaker
On the motion of Tara Armstrong that Bill (No. M 225) intituled Secure Procurement in Respect of China Act be introduced and read a first time, the House divided.
Motion agreed to on the following division:
| Yeas — 84 | |||
| Lore G. Anderson Blatherwick Routledge Chant Toporowski B. Anderson Neill Osborne Brar Krieger Davidson Parmar Sunner Beare Chandra Herbert Wickens Kang Sandhu Begg Higginson |
Phillip Lajeunesse Choi Rotchford Elmore Morissette Popham Dix Sharma Farnworth Eby Bailey Kahlon Greene Whiteside Boyle Ma Yung Malcolmson Gibson Glumac |
Arora Shah Chow Dhir Wilson Kindy Milobar Rustad Banman Halford Hartwell L. Neufeld Dew Clare K. Neufeld Bhangu Gasper Toor Hepner Giddens Rattée |
Davis McInnis Bird McCall Stamer Tepper Mok Maahs Williams Loewen Dhaliwal Doerkson Luck Block Valeriote Botterell Brodie Armstrong Kealy Sturko Boultbee |
| Nays — 4 | |||
| Warbus |
Wat |
Kooner |
Chan |
Bill (No. M 225) introduced, read a first time, and Ordered to be placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading at the next sitting after today.
On the motion of Dana Lajeunesse, Bill (No. M 226) intituled Motor Vehicle Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025, was introduced, read a first time, and Ordered to be placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading at the next sitting after today.
Order called for “Members’ Statements.”
The Speaker delivered his reserved decision as follows:
Honourable Members:
On Tuesday, November 25, the Minister of Finance raised a point of order regarding remarks by the Fourth Party House Leader that she viewed to be unparliamentary. The Chair thanks the Minister of Finance and the Leader of the Fourth Party for their submissions and is now prepared to rule on the point of order.
Words spoken in this Chamber no doubt garner much attention and can shape broader dialogue about the issues of the day. This is a place of debate, where Members must be able to exchange views and ideas passionately and fiercely, and the Chair firmly believes that can be done in a respectful manner.
As noted in Parliamentary Practice in British Columbia, 5th edition, at page 151, “The codification of unparliamentary language is impractical, as the Speaker must consider the context in which the words were spoken — i.e., the person to whom the words were directed, the degree of provocation and whether or not the remarks created disorder in the House.”
If a Member believes that unparliamentary language was used, I invite them to rise on a point of order at the appropriate time to bring the infraction to the attention of the Chair so that it may be assessed on these criteria.
In the case of the submissions by the Minister of Finance and the Leader of the Fourth Party on the point of order raised yesterday, arguments offered amounted to debate, as they introduced various opinions unrelated to a breach of decorum. The perceived infractions could have been simply stated with a request that the Chair determine whether language used was unparliamentary.
As the Chair has stated many times before, the role of the Chair is limited to upholding the rules that govern the conduct of parliamentary proceedings, and to assessing whether they have been breached. To preserve the impartiality of the office the Chair holds, it is inappropriate to intervene in disputes between Members that, to put in simple terms, amount to tit for tat submissions to the Chair.
The Chair implores all Members to conduct and hold themselves to a standard that befits the high public office that they hold.
HON. RAJ CHOUHAN, Speaker
Order called for “Oral Questions by Members.”
Á’a:líya Warbus rose on a point of order regarding the application of Standing Order 47A. (b) during Oral Question Period.
The Hon. Mike Farnworth made representations.
The Speaker stated that he would take the matter under advisement.
Steve Kooner presented a petition regarding the Queensborough school bus service.
The Hon. Christine Boyle (Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs) tabled the Islands Trust Annual Report, 2024/25.
Jennifer Blatherwick presented the Report of the Special Committee on Democratic and Electoral Reform, Toward a Stronger Democracy in BC, for the First Session of the Forty-third Parliament (First), November 2025.
The Report was taken as read and received.
By leave, Jennifer Blatherwick moved that the Report be adopted.
A debate arose.
Motion agreed to.
The Hon. Kelly Greene (Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness) tabled the British Columbia Disaster and Climate Risk and Resilience Assessment Provincial Report, October 2025.
The Hon. Adrian Dix (Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions) tabled the Final Report of the CleanBC Independent Review Panel, Rising to the Moment, November 2025.
The Hon. Niki Sharma (Attorney General and Deputy Premier) tabled the Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia Annual Report, 2024-2025.
The House proceeded to “Orders of the Day.”
Pursuant to Sessional Order, order called for Section A of Committee of the Whole.
Bill (No. 29) intituled Child, Family and Community Service Amendment Act, 2025, was again committed.
A proposed amendment by Rosalyn Bird to clause 1 of Bill (No. 29) was defeated.
Clause 1 and clause 2 of Bill (No. 29) passed.
Rosalyn Bird moved a proposed amendment to clause 3 of Bill (No. 29) which was defeated on the following division:
| Nays — 48 | |||
| Lore G. Anderson Blatherwick Routledge Chant Toporowski B. Anderson Neill Osborne Brar Krieger Davidson |
Parmar Sunner Beare Chandra Herbert Wickens Kang Sandhu Begg Higginson Phillip Lajeunesse Choi |
Rotchford Elmore Morissette Popham Dix Sharma Farnworth Eby Bailey Kahlon Greene Whiteside |
Boyle Ma Yung Malcolmson Gibson Glumac Arora Shah Chow Dhir Valeriote Botterell |
| Yeas — 40 | |||
| Wilson Kindy Milobar Warbus Rustad Banman Wat Kooner Halford Hartwell |
L. Neufeld Van Popta Dew Clare K. Neufeld Gasper Chan Toor Hepner Giddens |
Rattée Davis McInnis Bird McCall Stamer Day Tepper Mok Maahs |
Williams Loewen Dhaliwal Luck Block Brodie Armstrong Kealy Sturko Boultbee |
A proposed amendment by Rosalyn Bird to clause 3 of Bill (No. 29) was ruled out of order.
A proposed amendment by Rosalyn Bird to clause 3 of Bill (No. 29) was moved, and by leave, withdrawn.
On clause 3 of Bill (No. 29).
The Committee rose, reported progress and asked leave to sit again.
Bill to be considered at the next sitting.
(In Committee — Section A)
Bill (No. 32) intituled Mental Health Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025, was committed.
On clause 1 of Bill (No. 32).
Section A of Committee of the Whole reported progress on Bill (No. 32) intituled Mental Health Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025, and asked leave to sit again.
Bill to be considered at the next sitting.
Committee to sit again at the next sitting.
And then the House adjourned at 6.51 p.m.
HON. RAJ CHOUHAN, Speaker
Thursday, November 27
Lorne Doerkson to introduce a Bill intituled Crown Land and Financial Transparency Act.
Peter Milobar to introduce a Bill intituled Low Carbon Fuels Amendment Act, 2025.
Monday, December 1
Anna Kindy to introduce a Bill intituled Health Professions and Occupations Repeal Act.
Monday, December 1
74 Kristina Loewen to move —
That this House affirms its support for raising awareness and increasing education about the risks of early or lengthy access to the internet for our children and youth to ensure that appropriate guidance and oversight prevent access to adult content, predators, pedophiles and an increase in mental health conditions.
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